WEDNESDAY the 12th.
A very hot day in the Oregon desert ... and wildfires, which put us on a detour ... and we drove longer than we had planned but got to our destination of Prineville, hot and tired. A shorter trip tomorrow, destination John Day.
*
Smoky, hazy, burns the eyes, in Prineville, which will ruin viewing the meteor shower tonight, I'm sure. We had dinner at Subway to me, felt like a gourmet meal! Want to see the painted hills tomorrow, more sightseeing and less driving.
*
THUR the 13th. H to C breakfast here, I pass. Never much into other than old school breakfast. And my stomach a little stressed, H not always easy to travel with now, it turns out. Not sure I'd want a RM to do more! What a situation. Actually, I feel more on vacation sitting on the deck than on the road now.
Well, make the best of it. Nothing else to do.
*
A gift from the gods: putting the dog in the car at Painted Hills, I put my Kindle on the roof -- and drove off with it there! After several miles on a dirt road, I remembered -- oh shit. H reached up and found it still on the roof!
The drive from Prineville to John Day is one of my favorite roads. Love it.
Crashed early in John Day. Pooped. Two old farts don't travel like they used to.
*
A run of good fortune: JD motel across street from restaurant that serves breakfast all day. My favorite meal, which I missed today.
*
A context of high stress is when H can't remember where something important is: her pills, an electronic device, etc. She doesn't want me to take charge, nor do I want to, and she forgets to tell me where she puts things, as I suggest for backup; so a lot of time is spent looking for things. But, the bottom line is, it could be far worse!
*
Had a lovely meal in the room, which I got from across the street. A mellow evening, we hope ... maybe explore downtown after it cools off. A long drive tomorrow, to Mt Home, Idaho -- but we stay in our motel two days.
I feel relaxed about "retirement" for the first time because I know that among hypertext scholars, readers, audience, I've made my mark, I am considered a piooneer by many, some of whom see themselves as continuing my work in hyperdrama, my start, and this is all very satisfying to me. I never needed fame and fortune. I needed, and now have, respect and a sense that my work will outlive me. What has happened is enough ... and, at the risk of sounding top heavy, I think there's a decent chance even more will happen in the future. But for myself, now, in this life, being "in the canon" of first generation hypertext is contribution enough, influence enough. I worked hard and alone at a very esoteric craft that my fellow Americans seemed completely uninterested in. Well, with the exception of the Cambridge crowd. They are the real piooneers, I just turned the focus toward drama. At any rate, I feel like I can put a warm period at the end of a career now. I got my gold watch.
*
I could live in John Day quite easily. My kind of landscape. Not first choice but high on the list. H, however, could never live here. She needs more green, more cool.
I didn't like our room last night but I love it here. This is exactly the kind of spot I used to search out in my younger writing days, when I was living on grants ... find somewhere I was not known, write, drink with the locals, crash early ... everything within walking distance here, an important criterion, so yes, this is like one of my young writer haunts.
Sometimes I would role play! Once I presented myself as a Russian sailor on pass, speaking Russian and pidgin English. Who knows why? ha ha.
*
Still over 90 after 9 pm ... a trip for ice cream helped. And AC in the motel works. So we are surviving. Hazy smoke from nearby fires is unfortunate. Seems like the whole west is aflame.
*
FRI the 14th. I'm ready to go but H is still in bed ... be about two hrs before we hit the road. Will get breakfast across the street, bring something back. Long hot drive today but we end up in Mt Home to stay two days, so that will be nice. H at family day tomorrow with troubled grandson, the purpose of the trip. I'll hang in the motel and town with Sketch. Brought my ukulele, maybe I can get Avalon down tomorrow, with so much time on my hands.
*
A former grad student read the opening of TITANIC and digs it, is very enthusiastic about it, wants to read more, always a good sign. But I am in no rush ... I don't have the energy to be obsessed about it, it will have to develop at the new old man's rhythm.
Sketch and I have a day alone, as H participates in family day at the institute for kids. We'll be fine.
*
We're on Mountain Time, which doesn't affect me ... but for her family day, H has to leave here at 730 a.m. Pdx time and I can't remember the last time I saw her awake then. Soooo ... we'll see how she does.
I love John Day. I could live in John Day, easily. From what I've seen of Mt Home, you couldn't pay me to live here. Very ugly landscape.
*
SATURDAY. 720 a.m., almost time for H to get moving for her big day. Sketch and I will hang in the motel, maybe take a walk in this barren landscape, see if anything out there can amuse us. I have ukulele to play, books to read, movies to watch on Fire or TV, which gets 3 HBO channels. I'll be fine.
Not much else to report this morning. Sketch has taken my place in bed, stretched out and comfy. H stirring ... I think the office gives her a wake up call at 730. More official than my usual, Time to get up, which usually is ignored ha ha.
*
Maybe we're on the desolate end of town because the brochure in the room makes this burg look pretty nice. Hmm. At any rate, seems there's a decent diner within walking distance, if the urge comes ... with take out window.
Watching Little League right now. MANY constructive things I could be doing but maybe I'll just vegetate all day ha ha!
*
I have a Jazz Radio app, so great music goes with me wherever I can get online, as here in the motel. Listening to some good vibes at the moment! Watching muted Little League bball. Sketch crashed on the floor. Our day begins.
H in a tizzy getting off, very hard for her to get it together in the morning, gets frustrated with being slow, forgetful, which of course makes it worse ... but she made it and I hope her big day is everything she expects it to be. This troubled kid's mom, H's daughter, lives only 100 miles away but has made no effort to see the kid. H is the only contact he has.
*
So we took a tiny walk on our desolate end of town ... boarded up cafes and businesses, dry dirt/rocky path, pretty dismal. Back in our nice motel room, jazz on the app, feeling fine. I do have to drive around, though, and see the spots they photograph because this end of town is the pits.
Well, I should read ... or being Saturday, TV may have sports. Watch, listen to jazz. The dog hanging in okay so far.
*
Alone in a motel in the day reminds me of my young "starving writer" days, though I wasn't starving, I was making it okay living on grants by and large, for a while, and hanging out alone, or with a lady, in motels with nothing but writing materials and booze. I ate, if alone (ladies did not dig this), a lot out of cans ... cold chili, cold garbanzo beans, cold spaghetti, and such ... and as if to remember those days, for lunch now, instead of walking a quarter mile to what seems like a decent diner, I ate a can of cold chili from the can. It was good! Everything has its place and context. I lived like a king when I was poor.
*
LLeague game that just came on is Oregon v Idaho ... NW regional final ... how cool is that.
*
What happened to Mariners pitching? Yesterday Red Sox beat them 15-1 ... today they are leading 18-2! This is shameful.
*
A very hot day in the Oregon desert ... and wildfires, which put us on a detour ... and we drove longer than we had planned but got to our destination of Prineville, hot and tired. A shorter trip tomorrow, destination John Day.
*
Smoky, hazy, burns the eyes, in Prineville, which will ruin viewing the meteor shower tonight, I'm sure. We had dinner at Subway to me, felt like a gourmet meal! Want to see the painted hills tomorrow, more sightseeing and less driving.
*
THUR the 13th. H to C breakfast here, I pass. Never much into other than old school breakfast. And my stomach a little stressed, H not always easy to travel with now, it turns out. Not sure I'd want a RM to do more! What a situation. Actually, I feel more on vacation sitting on the deck than on the road now.
Well, make the best of it. Nothing else to do.
*
A gift from the gods: putting the dog in the car at Painted Hills, I put my Kindle on the roof -- and drove off with it there! After several miles on a dirt road, I remembered -- oh shit. H reached up and found it still on the roof!
The drive from Prineville to John Day is one of my favorite roads. Love it.
Crashed early in John Day. Pooped. Two old farts don't travel like they used to.
*
A run of good fortune: JD motel across street from restaurant that serves breakfast all day. My favorite meal, which I missed today.
*
A context of high stress is when H can't remember where something important is: her pills, an electronic device, etc. She doesn't want me to take charge, nor do I want to, and she forgets to tell me where she puts things, as I suggest for backup; so a lot of time is spent looking for things. But, the bottom line is, it could be far worse!
*
Had a lovely meal in the room, which I got from across the street. A mellow evening, we hope ... maybe explore downtown after it cools off. A long drive tomorrow, to Mt Home, Idaho -- but we stay in our motel two days.
I feel relaxed about "retirement" for the first time because I know that among hypertext scholars, readers, audience, I've made my mark, I am considered a piooneer by many, some of whom see themselves as continuing my work in hyperdrama, my start, and this is all very satisfying to me. I never needed fame and fortune. I needed, and now have, respect and a sense that my work will outlive me. What has happened is enough ... and, at the risk of sounding top heavy, I think there's a decent chance even more will happen in the future. But for myself, now, in this life, being "in the canon" of first generation hypertext is contribution enough, influence enough. I worked hard and alone at a very esoteric craft that my fellow Americans seemed completely uninterested in. Well, with the exception of the Cambridge crowd. They are the real piooneers, I just turned the focus toward drama. At any rate, I feel like I can put a warm period at the end of a career now. I got my gold watch.
*
I could live in John Day quite easily. My kind of landscape. Not first choice but high on the list. H, however, could never live here. She needs more green, more cool.
I didn't like our room last night but I love it here. This is exactly the kind of spot I used to search out in my younger writing days, when I was living on grants ... find somewhere I was not known, write, drink with the locals, crash early ... everything within walking distance here, an important criterion, so yes, this is like one of my young writer haunts.
Sometimes I would role play! Once I presented myself as a Russian sailor on pass, speaking Russian and pidgin English. Who knows why? ha ha.
*
Still over 90 after 9 pm ... a trip for ice cream helped. And AC in the motel works. So we are surviving. Hazy smoke from nearby fires is unfortunate. Seems like the whole west is aflame.
*
FRI the 14th. I'm ready to go but H is still in bed ... be about two hrs before we hit the road. Will get breakfast across the street, bring something back. Long hot drive today but we end up in Mt Home to stay two days, so that will be nice. H at family day tomorrow with troubled grandson, the purpose of the trip. I'll hang in the motel and town with Sketch. Brought my ukulele, maybe I can get Avalon down tomorrow, with so much time on my hands.
*
A former grad student read the opening of TITANIC and digs it, is very enthusiastic about it, wants to read more, always a good sign. But I am in no rush ... I don't have the energy to be obsessed about it, it will have to develop at the new old man's rhythm.
Sketch and I have a day alone, as H participates in family day at the institute for kids. We'll be fine.
*
We're on Mountain Time, which doesn't affect me ... but for her family day, H has to leave here at 730 a.m. Pdx time and I can't remember the last time I saw her awake then. Soooo ... we'll see how she does.
I love John Day. I could live in John Day, easily. From what I've seen of Mt Home, you couldn't pay me to live here. Very ugly landscape.
*
SATURDAY. 720 a.m., almost time for H to get moving for her big day. Sketch and I will hang in the motel, maybe take a walk in this barren landscape, see if anything out there can amuse us. I have ukulele to play, books to read, movies to watch on Fire or TV, which gets 3 HBO channels. I'll be fine.
Not much else to report this morning. Sketch has taken my place in bed, stretched out and comfy. H stirring ... I think the office gives her a wake up call at 730. More official than my usual, Time to get up, which usually is ignored ha ha.
*
Maybe we're on the desolate end of town because the brochure in the room makes this burg look pretty nice. Hmm. At any rate, seems there's a decent diner within walking distance, if the urge comes ... with take out window.
Watching Little League right now. MANY constructive things I could be doing but maybe I'll just vegetate all day ha ha!
*
I have a Jazz Radio app, so great music goes with me wherever I can get online, as here in the motel. Listening to some good vibes at the moment! Watching muted Little League bball. Sketch crashed on the floor. Our day begins.
H in a tizzy getting off, very hard for her to get it together in the morning, gets frustrated with being slow, forgetful, which of course makes it worse ... but she made it and I hope her big day is everything she expects it to be. This troubled kid's mom, H's daughter, lives only 100 miles away but has made no effort to see the kid. H is the only contact he has.
*
So we took a tiny walk on our desolate end of town ... boarded up cafes and businesses, dry dirt/rocky path, pretty dismal. Back in our nice motel room, jazz on the app, feeling fine. I do have to drive around, though, and see the spots they photograph because this end of town is the pits.
Well, I should read ... or being Saturday, TV may have sports. Watch, listen to jazz. The dog hanging in okay so far.
*
Alone in a motel in the day reminds me of my young "starving writer" days, though I wasn't starving, I was making it okay living on grants by and large, for a while, and hanging out alone, or with a lady, in motels with nothing but writing materials and booze. I ate, if alone (ladies did not dig this), a lot out of cans ... cold chili, cold garbanzo beans, cold spaghetti, and such ... and as if to remember those days, for lunch now, instead of walking a quarter mile to what seems like a decent diner, I ate a can of cold chili from the can. It was good! Everything has its place and context. I lived like a king when I was poor.
*
LLeague game that just came on is Oregon v Idaho ... NW regional final ... how cool is that.
*
What happened to Mariners pitching? Yesterday Red Sox beat them 15-1 ... today they are leading 18-2! This is shameful.
*
